Erwin Piscator and the American Theatre

As the centennial of his birth approaches, a revaluation of Erwin Piscator's influence on the theatre of the western world seems due.

Although he was the first to do political qua epic theatre, it was his pupil Brecht who received all the attention.During the Hitler years Piscator spent almost 13 years (1939-1951) in the United States where he founded and directed the Dramatic Workshop at the New School for Social Research and had among his students Beatrice Arthur, Harry Belafonte, Marlon Brando, Tony Curtis, Judith Malina, Walther Matthau, Tony Randall, to name only a few.

The question is raised whether his alleged influence can be felt in contemporary American theatre, particularly with regard to playwrights such as A.

Miller, R.P. Warren, Th. Wilder, and Tennessee Williams.